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Persian. Giovanni's favorite.
Normal Form Abilities:Limber: Prevents paralysis. Pretty simple. Not sure I would recommend it, but if paralysis is worrying you that much...... I guess go for it?Technician: Boosts power of moves with 60 BP or less by 50%. This counts in BEFORE STAB, keep in mind. Very nice, get a decent boost out of fake out and the like.
Hidden Ability:Unnerve: Opponent can't use held berry, and increases chance of wild pokemon calling for help. Decent ability, but not on persian.

Alolan Form Abilities:Fur Coat: Halves all damage this pokemon takes. Amazing ability to help it tank hits easier, though its' dark typing leaves its usefulness in question.Technician: Already described it, same deal here, only with a dark typing now.
Hidden Ability:Rattled: Boosts speed by 1 stage when hit by a bug, ghost, or dark type move. So long as it's not a bug type move, its alright. Otherwise, ded before the boost can even happen.

Alolan Persian was a big surprise, both in design and in usability. Basically, this here is kind of a sweeper that can make an exit if it needs to, help set up for its replacement. Nasty Plot to boost stats. Dark Pulse for STAB. Power Gem for coverage. Parting Shot when you know it's time to bring in something else, maybe save Persian for later.

Item has multiple possible uses. Switch in on Sticky Web, need that Speed back? Z-Nasty Plot. Need a one-time nuke to take out a powerful foe? Turn Dark Pulse into Black Hole Eclipse. Need to heal up a teammate? Z-Parting Shot. Very versatile. Ability gives Persian some physical bulk.

Other options:
*Swift on standard Persian is an attractive option with Technician, but it also gets Hyper Voice- same base power when all is said and done, and it also hits through Substitutes.
*Speaking of standard Persian, it can run a Nasty Plot set with Hyper Voice, Water Pulse, Thunderbolt, Power Gem, Icy Wind- whatever moves it needs. Works pretty well with Technician. Not the best, but it's a thing that can be done.
*Alolan Persian gets Snarl. Could work pretty well with Fur Coat to give it bulk on both sides.

Abilities:
*Limber: Persian can't be paralyzed. Definitely not a bad option for something that so depends on its Speed, but it can do better than that. Standard Persian only.
*Fur Coat: Persian takes half damage from physical attacks, effectively doubling its Defense. This is generally what you want on your Persian, so it can take physical hits. Alolan Persian only.
*Technician: Persian's moves with a base power of 60 or lower are 50% stronger. This is a very good Ability any way you slice it. Its's the best you got for standard Persian, but Alolan Persian prefers Fur Coat generally. Available on both kinds of Persian.
*Unnerve: Persian's Hidden Ability. When Persian is in battle, its opponents cannot eat their held berries. Ehhhh... Standard Persian only.
*Rattled: Alolan Persian's Hidden Ability. When Persian is hit by a Bug, Ghost, or Dark move, its Speed goes up one stage. Not much of an improvement over Unnerve, honestly, considering Persian isn't really in need of a Speed increase. Alolan Persian only.

Partners:
Anything that could use Wish support would appreciate Alolan Persian as a teammate. Anything that wants a nice, safe switch-in? Persian's Parting Shot can make that happen.

Counters:
Fur Coat doesn't do crap for Persian's Special Defense, so fast special attackers are something it won't appreciate. Special Pheromosa comes to mind- outspeeds and almost certainly OHKOs with Bug Buzz.

Opinion:
As far as standard Persian goes, I've always thought it was OK. Always preferred Meowth in terms of design. Alolan Persian, on the other hand, I took an immediate and instant liking to it as soon as I saw it. Very cool design, it's awesome in battle, easily one of my favorite Alola Forms.

Persian-A has seen more success in VGC than Salazzle from last week, most notably being used by Sebastian Escalante and Markus Stadter, and I personally think it's a pretty fun pick. It has a super fast Fake Out at base 115 speed, and the incredibly useful Parting Shot attack to pivot and disrupt your opponent. Also it's a dark type so it can't be Taunted by Prankster Pokémon like Whimsicott and Sableye. With Fur Coat and Foul Play, it serves as a natural check to Garchomp, the most popular Z move user in the format. On top of all this, Persian gets a plethora of status/support moves to toy with, including the aforementioned Parting Shot, as well as Taunt, Quash, Snatch, Flatter (fun to use on partner Tapu Fini), Hypnosis, Charm, Snarl, and Feint. I personally recommend using a Mago Berry on it with a Timid Nature, though I have played against Z Parting Shot variants, which heal HP and status of the mon you switch in its place. You can also make a case for Assault Vest, but it's not my favorite. Fake Out, Parting Shot, and Foul Play are mandatory, last slot is up to you. It's hard to OHKO on the physical side, bar perhaps Guts boosted Hariyama Close Combat or High Jump Kick Pheromosa. To take it down, you need special attacks, best check to Persian is Scarf Lele, Psychic Surge with block Fake Out and can KO with Moonblast before Persian can use Parting Shot and get a safe switch into perhaps a Magnezone. Timid Fairium Z Koko is another option, but in general, special attacks are the way to go to take it out. You're gonna need max speed Timid to use this so you can outspeed max speed Modest Tapu Koko and use Parting Shot.

Alolan Form Abilities:Fur Coat: Halves all damage this pokemon takes. Amazing ability to help it tank hits easier, though its dark typing leaves its usefulness in question..

No, Fur Coar only halves damage from physical attacks.

On the unrelated note, I haven't seen all that much in competitive battles. Sure, that may have to do with me focusing on Doubles battle than anything, but it's not exactly the most common choice even in single battles either.

AKA flamemario12 though I rarely used that dumb name since 2013
Don't expect me to do all that much here.

Pure dark with fur coat is great. Persian can take physical hits slightly better than Bastiodon without those huge 4X fighting and ground weaknesses. The 2X fighting weakness isn;t so bad because there aren't many special attackers running around, and a physical wall always appreciates an immunity to psychic special wallbreakers.